Perth Venue Action announces steering committee, launches survey

The newly formed Perth Venue Action (PVA) has officially launched as an association and lobby group to represent Perth’s live music scene.

It has also set up a steering committee, which includes a firepower of major names predominantly from the Perth music industry. They are, alphabetically:

Joe Algeri – Director, Altus Planning & Appeals (who will serve as its town planning consultant)

Jason Cleary – General Manager of community radio RTRFM

Dave Cutbush – Director of national tour promoter Life Is Noise, who serves as convener for PVA

Erika Jellis – former manager of the HQ club in Leederville

Sarah Nelson – WAAPA graduate, resident academic, PVA admin

Alex Paioff – Director of arts and music collective Pilerats

Luke Rinaldi – GM of management and booking agency Sweet Mate Music

Andrew Ryan – Director of promoter Cool Perth Nights

Charlotte Thorne – national tour promoter Billions Australia

Michael Tucak – Principal lawyer at Creative Legal and a board member of the Chamber of Arts and Culture WA.

Chris Wheeldon – Operations and Volunteer Manager of RTRFM

The PVA last night also launched an online public survey to get a fix on what Perth punters and music industry folk consider important challenges, and which issues they think the steering committee should focus on. After preliminary discussions with politicians and authorities, it has also scheduled a meeting with Duncan Ord, Director-General of WA’s Department of Culture & Arts.

Cutbush told The Music Network that the steering committee already has a list of issues to discuss with the Department. These include the protection of existing venues, lobbying for legislative change including liquor licensing and noise regulation, strategies for audience development, more funding for the music sector, lobbying for a state subsidized 600-capacity venue, live music education and/or promotion especially to younger music fans, and the development of an underage gig circuit.

“But that (the issues to be discussed) will obviously change depending on what comes out of the survey,” he added.

The survey taps feedback from the public on what elements of a venue is important to live music fans, what and who motivate their going to see a band, what kind of music they like, how much spend on a night out, and what their night time social activities they indulge in not seeing bands.

The PVA came together after Cutbush convened a meeting in February to address the rash of venues beginning to close down. The gathering, held significantly at the Bakery (which is closing on May 9) drew an unexpected high attendance of 300. They included a number of politicians and council representatives who expressed sympathy for challenges thrown up in the frank discussion.

This covered everything from the lack of small venues where small acts could hone their skills to the greater role the state government and local councils could play in snipping red tape, subsidizing the cost of gigs, releasing its empty buildings for rehearsal and performance space, and looking at the possibility of introducing an Agent of Change law similar to Melbourne to protect established venues from noise complaints from newly arrived residents. The gathering unanimously voted to set up PVA.

Since TMN reported on that inaugural meeting, independent theatre and visual arts revealed they too face similar issues. These include high rent (one gallery closed this year after its annual rent went up from $22,000 to $60,000) and high venue hire charges, inconsistent funding, minimal support from audiences and lack of access to cheap or free performing and exhibition spaces.